Mary Katrantzou has been appointed as the first-ever creative director of leather goods and accessories at Bvlgari, a role created for her after multiple successful collaborations. She designed the new Icons Minaudière Collection, a series of 10 bags reimagining Bvlgari's iconic symbols such as Serpenti, Divas' Dream, and Monete, using jewelry-making techniques like hand-enameled scales and semiprecious stones.
Gregory Crewdson, known for his meticulously staged photographs of small-town America, has partnered with the fashion brand Aritzia for its Artistic License Series. The collaboration features Crewdson's images on limited-edition shopping bags, in stores, and online, accompanied by an exhibition during Frieze Week in Los Angeles. The series has previously worked with photographers like Juergen Teller, Ryan McGinley, and Harley Weir. In an interview, Crewdson discusses his influences, including filmmakers David Lynch and Steven Spielberg, and the challenges of shooting a rain scene when a real storm interrupted the set.
An exhibition titled "Prisoners of Love: Until the Sun of Freedom" by artists Basel Abbas and Ruanne Abou-Rahme is on view at the Bell Gallery at Brown University until May 31. The show centers on a historical misattribution: the poem "Enemy of the Sun," found in the cell of Black Panther George Jackson after his 1971 murder, was long thought to be his work but was actually written by Palestinian poet Samih al-Qasim. Through a video installation featuring interviews with former political prisoners in Palestine, the artists explore what they call "radical kinship" between Black radical thinkers in the U.S. and Palestinian activists. Curators Kate Kraczon and Thea Quiray Tagle, who were terminated from Brown last December, collaborated on the project, which also draws on archival research into mass incarceration.
CULTURED and Aritzia co-hosted a dinner party at the former Fred Segal store on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles during Frieze Week. The event celebrated Aritzia's Artistic License series, featuring photographer Gregory Crewdson, whose work appears on shopping bags and in stores. Guests included Aritzia CEO Jennifer Wong, CULTURED Editor-in-Chief Sarah Harrelson, artists Chloe Wise and Maya Man, curator Essence Harden, and others from the art and fashion worlds. The evening featured a multi-course meal, Krug champagne, and copies of CULTURED's Entertainers Issue.
The article reviews "A World in the Making: The Shakers," an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, running through August 9, 2026. It pairs Shaker material culture with works by seven contemporary artists, including Kameelah Janan Rasheed, who responds to the archive of Rebecca Cox Jackson, a Black Shaker leader. The exhibition explores how Shaker communal practices, craft traditions, and devotional art resonate in today's digital age, where handmade aesthetics often become lifestyle signals rather than shared experiences.
Korean-American painter and sculptor Lisha Bai unveiled a new window installation at Hermès Maison Madison in New York, created to coincide with New York Fashion Week. The installation features polychrome fabrics molded into geometric forms, drawing inspiration from the Korean patchwork tradition of bojagi and the quilts of Gee’s Bend, reflecting Bai’s experience growing up as a Korean-American in Alabama. A conversation between Bai and Cooper Hewitt curator Alexandra Cunningham Cameron explored how Bai translates textile techniques and light into immersive art. The event was attended by Hermès Americas President and CEO Diane Mahady and VP Diane Kruger, among other guests.
German curator Udo Kittelmann and leading time-based art collector Julia Stoschek have collaborated on "What a Wonderful World," an audiovisual poem on view at Los Angeles's Variety Arts Theater from February 6 through March 20. The project interweaves early film entries by Alice Guy-Blaché, Georges Méliès, and Walt Disney with contemporary video works from Stoschek's collection, featuring artists such as Lu Yang, Bunny Rogers, and Paul Chan. Kittelmann and Stoschek insist the work is not an exhibition but a "poem," designed to challenge how audiences consume art and moving images, urging viewers to move beyond entertainment toward a raw, emotional experience.
Chanel and Art21 hosted a screening event at the Roxy Cinema in New York to celebrate the launch of their new docuseries "IRL/url," which premieres on TikTok. The evening featured remarks by Yana Peel, Chanel’s President of Arts, Culture & Heritage, and a screening of selected films from the series, followed by a conversation between Art21’s Executive Director Tina Kukielski and seven of the eight featured artists: Neïl Beloufa, Jacky Connolly, Julien Creuzet, Sara Cwynar, Xin Liu, Rachel Rossin, and Jacolby Satterwhite. The event also drew a crowd of notable artists, advisors, curators, and cultural figures.
Elin Kling and Karl Lindman, the Swedish couple behind the womenswear brand Toteme, discuss their design philosophy and the opening of their first flagship store in mainland Europe, located on Rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in Paris. The article, accompanied by photography from Mikael Jansson, details how the brand has resisted trends like "quiet luxury" and minimalism labels, instead focusing on precision, restraint, and timeless essentials. The Paris store, designed by Stockholm-based Halleroed, features art-gallery-white walls, Italian limestone floors, and works by Marc Newson, Lucie Gottlieb, and Jansson, reflecting the brand's serene, uncluttered aesthetic.
Terry and Jo Harvey Allen, a multidisciplinary artist couple now in their 80s, have donated their entire archive to Texas Tech University. The collection includes countless paintings, scripts, hundreds of audio tapes recorded with collaborators like David Byrne and Steve Earle, and personal letters exchanged over decades. The couple, who met at a dance in Lubbock, Texas, over 70 years ago, continue to live and work in a rambling adobe home in Santa Fe, surrounded by their art and memories.
Jonathan Anderson made his debut as the new men's artistic director of Dior with the Men's Spring/Summer 2026 collection, presented in June. The collection riffs on French history while incorporating Anderson's signature gestures: painstaking handiwork, reverence for craft, and touches of the absurd. Highlights include a collaboration with textile artist Sheila Hicks on the Lady Dior bag, literary tributes on the Book Tote (featuring works by Bram Stoker, James Joyce, and Charles Baudelaire), and intricate embroidery requiring up to 3,271 hours per coat. The collection also features Brandebourg detailing, sculptural silhouettes, and reimagined heritage pieces like a 1960s-inspired cape.
Anthony Vaccarello, creative director of Saint Laurent, has opened a new Paris flagship store at 37 Avenue Montaigne, housed in the former Canadian embassy. The store reflects his vision with a mix of modern design and vintage furniture, including pieces by Jean-Michel Frank and François-Xavier Lalanne, alongside contemporary artworks by Mark Bradford, Camille Henrot, and Thomas Houseago on loan from the Pinault Collection. Vaccarello discusses the two-year transformation, his approach to retail as a context for the clothes, and his broader creative expansions into film with Saint Laurent Productions and the revival of Charlotte Perriand furniture designs.
Art advisor Rob Teeters opens his 1950s Sagaponack home to CULTURED magazine, revealing how he curates his personal collection alongside his husband, ceramicist Bruce M. Sherman. The home features a mix of ancient artifacts, such as a third-century Roman marble head, and contemporary works by Wade Guyton, Sherrie Levine, and Matias Faldbakken, alongside Sherman's own polychrome ceramics. Teeters, who founded Front Desk Apparatus in 2006 and leads the Dallas nonprofit art space the Power Station, discusses the nuanced process of living with art and how arrangement, lighting, and even the texture of a room affect the experience.
Last Thursday, an intimate panel conversation took place at the sales gallery of the Jean-Georges Miami Tropic Residences in the Miami Design District, bringing together leaders from visual culture. Panelists included CULTURED Editor-at-Large Julia Halperin, designer Glenn Pushelberg, artist Marcel Dzama, and art advisor Jamie Stagnitta, who discussed how art, design, and culture shape contemporary living. Chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten surprised guests by arriving at the event.
Sharon Maidenberg, who became the Ernest and Sarah Butler Executive Director & CEO of the Contemporary Austin in summer 2020, reflects on her five-year tenure in an interview with CULTURED. Under her leadership, the museum has navigated the pandemic, deepened programming, expanded accessibility with an ADA ramp and offerings for visually impaired and neurodivergent visitors, launched sustainability initiatives with the Teiger Foundation and Rute Collaborative, and hosted its annual Art Dinner featuring a Benefit Art Auction with works by Lubaina Himid, Ed Ruscha, RF. Alvarez, and others. Current exhibitions include “The Canvas Can Do Miracles,” “HOST: Raul De Lara,” and “Teddy Sandoval and the Butch Gardens School of Art.”
Sam Chermayeff and Stella Roos are planning a day-long wedding party for 250 people in an abandoned Fascist-era villa in Rome, originally built as Olivetti offices. The couple, who live in Berlin but have no family there, decided on Rome for its festive appeal. They initially considered joining the Catholic Church to secure a venue but ultimately arranged to hold their ceremony in a ruined church on the Appia Antica, with artist Tacita Dean asked to officiate. The party venue, inherited by a friend of a friend, sits near the Baths of Caracalla and features overgrown gardens and dusty rooms. Invitations were designed by their friend Leo of Something Fantastic, and the couple's mood board includes whimsical details like an ice sculpture, tiny potatoes, and a flower chain.
The Istanbul International Arts and Culture Festival, co-founded by curator Demet Müftüoğlu-Eşeli and filmmaker Alphan Eşeli, returns for its 15th edition with the theme “What Is Really Real?” Over three days in October, the festival brings together creative minds from film, technology, photography, literature, and visual art for panels, screenings, workshops, and exhibitions. In an interview with Cultured, the founders and artist José Parlá discuss the urgency of questioning authenticity in a digitally mediated world, touching on memory, dreams, and the blurred line between the artificial and the real.
Versace has appointed Dario Vitale as its new Chief Creative Officer, and under his direction, the house launched the Spring/Summer 2026 collection at Milan Fashion Week alongside a new initiative called Versace Embodied. This series commissions photographers, painters, filmmakers, and poets to reinterpret Versace’s visual language through their own mediums. The first chapter features contributions from photographer Stef Mitchell, poet Eileen Myles, artist Collier Schorr, photographer Camille Vivier, and photographer Andrea Modica, whose works range from motorcycle portraits to hand-drawn nudes and regional Italian portraiture.
Clara Wu Tsai, owner of the New York Liberty, and CULTURED Arts Editor-at-Large Sophia Cohen hosted an evening at Barclays Center in Brooklyn to honor artist LaToya Ruby Frazier. The event celebrated the debut of Frazier's first outdoor public art commission, "The Liberty Portraits: A Monument to the 2024 Champions," which reimagines the plaza as a tribute to the women's basketball team. Attendees included WNBA players Natasha Cloud and Isabelle Harrison, Brooklyn Nets CEO Sam Zussman, artists Sarah Sze, Joan Jonas, Shaun Leonardo, and Dustin Yellin, gallerist Gavin Brown, public art advocate Susan Freedman, and curators Eric Shiner, Tina Kukielski, Drew Sawyer, and Jennifer Blessing. Wu Tsai also announced upcoming public art commissions from Sarah Sze and Rashid Johnson for Barclays Center.
Dior has launched the 10th edition of its Lady Art initiative, inviting a new roster of artists to reimagine the iconic Lady Dior handbag. The project, which began nearly a decade ago, has previously featured artists like Judy Chicago, Jack Pierson, and Mickalene Thomas. This year's participants include Jessica Cannon and Ju Ting, who discuss their creative processes, material explorations, and the dialogue between their artistic practices and Dior's heritage. The handbags incorporate sculpted tulle, pleated silk, stones, glass beads, and pearlized elements, blending fine art with fashion.
Cultured magazine profiles French-Algerian photographer Camille Farrah Lenain, nominated by Bell Pitkin of Leica Gallery Boston as part of the publication's '35—New Orleans, New York' feature. Lenain's documentary and portrait work has earned her the Arnold Newman Prize, a residency at the Joan Mitchell Center, and publication in The New York Times and Rolling Stone. She is preparing to release her first monograph in spring 2026. The article includes Lenain's personal reflections on photography, trust, and connection, illustrated with her self-portrait and images titled 'A Day With Edith,' 'Cassandra and Raymond,' and 'Ramziya's Dance.'
Artist Judy Chicago has created a limited-edition perfume trunk for Dior's Miss Dior fragrance, reimagining the scent and its presentation as a tribute to Catherine Dior, the sister of Christian Dior. The trunk, of which only 25 exist, features hand-embroidery, floral motifs, and colors adapted from Chicago's iconic work *The Dinner Party*, and includes a custom version of the perfume by Dior's Francis Kurkdjian. Chicago discusses how the project honors Catherine Dior's legacy as a French Resistance fighter and Holocaust survivor, paralleling her own efforts to elevate overlooked women in history.
Colette Thiebaud and Leon Barhoum founded Artmosphere, a nonprofit that delivers curated art education boxes called ARTicles to underserved schools across five U.S. states. Launched as a tribute to Thiebaud’s grandfather, the late artist Wayne Thiebaud, the organization recently received its largest donation from philanthropist Maria Manetti Shrem and has partnered with FOG Design+Art to debut a family program. The founders are now planning an event at Art Basel Miami called Confections & Connections for emerging collectors and patrons.
The BOFFO Performance Festival took place July 12–13 on Fire Island Pines, featuring a day-to-night marathon of 10 site-specific performances across three locations: the beach, a James McLeod home, and a helipad. Titled "Dystopian Ecstasy," the 11.5-hour program included artists such as Nile Harris, Shannon Funchess, Jonathan González, Lysis, Byrell the Great, Jas Lin, Makadsi, River Moon, Symara Sarai, and WILDBLUR, curated by Sydney Fishman and Lucas Ondak. Harris, who also photographed the event, collaborated with Dyer Rhoads on an interactive performance that engaged audience members including photographer Wolfgang Tillmans and actor Hari Nef, exploring gay social dynamics and community-building through satire and participatory acts.
Dale Chihuly has opened a new exhibition titled 'Chihuly x Maker’s Mark' at the Maker’s Mark distillery in Kentucky, featuring nine sculptural glass works installed across the grounds of Star Hill Farm. The show includes pieces such as the 12-foot 'Sapphire and Platinum Waterdrop Tower' (2017) and 'Moonbow Fiori' (2025), with the permanent installation 'Spirit of the Maker' (2013) at its center. The exhibition is accompanied by after-dark tours, limited-release whisky pours, and a revamped restaurant, Star Hill Provisions.
The Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut, hosted its annual Summer Party on a recent Saturday, honoring the late designer Gaetano Pesce. The event featured the debut of Big Surprise 2, a limited-edition resin vase created with Italian furniture firm Meritalia and inspired by two Feltri chairs from the host's collection. Guests enjoyed a site-responsive performance by dance company Pilobolus, the exhibition “Barbara Kasten: Structure, Light, Land,” a DJ set by Pete Brockman, and activations by Max Mara. Notable attendees included artists Deborah Brown and Naudline Pierre, architect Paul Goldberger, and museum director Cybele Maylone.
The Peninsula New York's Gotham Lounge has launched a Van Gogh-themed afternoon tea service in collaboration with the New York Botanical Garden's "Van Gogh's Flowers" exhibition. The tea features edible floral creations inspired by the artist's works, including honey and chocolate sunflowers, blueberry and almond sponge Lavenders, and vanilla custard cherry blossoms, served with a chocolate paintbrush and savory items like sunflower seed foie gras. The experience runs through June 28 and includes a complimentary ticket to the botanical garden exhibition.
Artists Rhett Tsai and Chang-Ching Su have presented tandem projects at Chicago's Watershed Art & Ecology, inspired by a joint research trip to fishing villages on China's Huangqi Peninsula. Their works explore the practice of light-lure fishing, with Su creating photographic exposures using the green LED lights from squid-fishing boats and translating satellite fishing data into sculptural installations. Tsai's contributions include CGI films and a VR video that depict the rhythms and social realities of coastal communities, focusing on the Tanka boat-dwelling people.
The Museum of Art and Photography (MAP) in Bengaluru is hosting 'Paper Gardens,' an exhibition that re-examines the history of botanical art through the lens of British colonialism. While the show features visually stunning hand-coloured lithographs of rhododendrons and medicinal plants, it juxtaposes these aesthetics with the harsh realities of the East India Company’s surveys. The exhibition highlights how local Indian artists and knowledge keepers were often marginalized or left anonymous, even as their expertise was essential to the scientific and commercial success of the British Empire.
Le Musée d’Ixelles à la croisée de différents regards
The Musée d’Ixelles in Brussels, closed for eight years for expansion and renovation, is nearing completion of its architectural transformation with a reopening scheduled for spring 2027 (March 19). Founded in 1892 in a former slaughterhouse, the museum has grown through successive donations and a continuous acquisition policy, now holding over 15,000 works spanning Belgian art from the 19th century to the contemporary period. Director and curator Claire Leblanc, who has led the institution since 2006, emphasizes a participatory approach that integrates diverse public perspectives, including a project called "Musée comme chez soi" during the closure where locals hosted artworks in their homes.